Toronto’s Aprilli Design Studio wins Radical Innovation Award

On Wednesday, October 3rd, the 12th annual Radical Innovation Award ceremony took place at the New Museum in New York City. Nearly 200 guests — including professionals in hospitality, real estate, finance, design, branding, and development — gathered for the occasion.

In a live vote determined by audience members, Aprilli Design Studio’s Autonomous Travel Suite became the recipient of the Radical Innovation Award $10,000 grand prize. Aquaponic Experience Hotel by Alice and Clotilde Varinot of Varinot & Varinot Architectes received the runner-up recognition, a $5,000 prize. Student winners Daniel Czyszczoń and Michał Witalis of Poland’s Cracow University of Technology were awarded $1,500 for their concept, RES. Both students will also have the opportunity to pursue an assistantship for a Master’s of Architecture Degree in Hospitality Design at UNLV.

The Autonomous Travel Suite integrates transportation and hospitality through a driverless, mobile suite offering door-to-door transportation service in between a traveler’s home and destination. Within a compact hotel room environment, the suite is equipped with basic sleeping, working and washroom functions, allowing guests to be most efficient and productive while optimizing travel time. Additionally, each unit runs on solar-powered energy, making way to a more sustainable future.

Operated and maintained by the Autonomous Hotel Chain, once scheduled online or via mobile app, a customized unit is delivered to a traveler’s door and taken to a local Autonomous Hotel docking facility at the traveler’s destination, where the unit extends into a larger travel suite. Acting as both a personal rental car and hotel room, The Autonomous Travel Suite provides a new way of traveling and an extension of the conventional hotel experience, from the minute a traveler steps out of their home.

“The goal of our Radical Innovation community is to create entirely new segments of the travel and hospitality industries,” explains John Hardy, CEO/ President of The John Hardy Group and Founder of Radical Innovation. “The Autonomous Travel Suite is the perfect example of this – utilizing sustainable technology as a travel solution that best serves the consumer of tomorrow.”

The event was co-produced by The John Hardy Group with support from founding sponsor Global Allies, and official partner Sleeper magazine. Innovator-level sponsors included Beyer Brown, DFL Legal, Martin Stringfellow Associates, Son & Sons, and the UNLV School of Architecture. Visionary-level sponsors included Magnetic, Castell Project and RIVUR.

More information about the Radical Innovation Award is available here.